MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Men's Lacrosse travelled to Huntingdon College on Wednesday afternoon, where they clipped the Hawks by a final score of 14-9.
Owen Morini led the Vikings with a huge game as he had 4 goals and 2 assists. Other key performers included Michael Beirne (3 goals, 2 assists) and Boston Juliao (2 goals, 1 assist). A total of eight Vikings got in on the scoring action to power the offensive attack.
The Vikings began the game by methodically probing the Hawk defensive line, dominating time of possession in the opening minute and a half. The Hawks hung in there though to stop the initial pressure by the Vikings. Berry quickly regained possession though, as Owen Morini shook a defender and scored solo to begin the scoring for the Vikings with just over 12 minutes left in the first quarter.
Both goalkeepers were put to the test in the first period, but it was Owen Morini who got the best of the Huntingdon keeper, as he snuck through the back door to give Berry a 2-0 lead on his second goal of the contest at the seven-minute mark. Huntingdon quickly responded, though, as they scored three unanswered goals to take the lead heading into the second quarter.
The Hawks continued to keep the pressure up, scoring two more goals to make it a 5-2 deficit for the Vikings to overcome. Following the fifth Hawk goal, Sean Johnson took matters into his own hands and went coast-to-coast to score a goal to bring the Vikings back within two. Boston Juliao then set up Michael Beirne on the ensuing faceoff for another Viking goal that cut the Huntingdon advantage to just one goal with just over five minutes to play in the first half. With the hot hand, Beirne aimed and destroyed the back of the net to tie the game at five to complete the sudden flurry of offense.
The two teams continued to go back and forth, with Huntingdon striking back with under three minutes to play in the half to regain a 6-5 lead. Owen Morini then dished to Tyler Gabrielese, who evened the game once again with a minute left in the back-and-forth first half. With less than thirty seconds left in the first half, Morini found Beirne for his third goal and gave the Vikings a 7-6 lead.
The Hawks struck first with ten minutes left in the third quarter on a miraculous goal to tie things up. Huntingdon's physical style of play continued to benefit them, as a collision resulted in a Hawk goal and 8-7 lead over the Vikings. Beirne continued to be a factor, as he found an open Boston Juliao, who scorched the back of the net from point-blank range to tie the game back up with 6:41 left in the third quarter.
The two teams continued to trade blows as the third quarter winded down, but the Vikings had the last word of the quarter, as Davis Witherspoon weaved his way through the Huntingdon defense and scored a crucial goal with 6 seconds remaining in the third to give Berry a 10-9 advantage.
Berry turned up the heat around the 9-minute mark, as goalkeeper Jacob Briggs saw daylight and slung a Hail Mary that was answered, as his shot eluded the Hawks to give Berry an 11-9 advantage, just before Morini buried the Hawks even further to put Berry ahead 12-9 as the game winded down. Goals from William Lee and Owen Morini and sustained possessions sealed the victory for the Vikings, as they left Charles Lee field with their first 2-0 start since 2022.
The Vikings will be back in action for their home opener against Hampden-Sydney on February 21 at 1 PM.
